New Year's Guilt
by Pink-Libra-Girl
Summary: This was not what any of them had planned for their first New Year together. Two of them unconscious, two of them worried and one of them sitting all alone beating himself up. Bree was determined to do something about the one thing she could change. (Secret Santa gift for TheEliteLabRatsLover)


**_This is my first Lab Rats: Elite Force fanfic as well as my contribution to the Multifandom Secret Santa. So TheEliteLabRatsLover, this is for you! Hope you like it!_** ** _ENJOY! :D_**

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The room was surprisingly quiet despite the time of the year. Besides the low buzzing from the machines keeping track of the wounded superheroes' vitals the only sound heard was the breathing of the present persons.

This was _not_ what any of them had planned. They had planned for their first New Year's Eve together in Centium City to be _magic_ , despite how cheesy that might sound...

They had been on a good way making it that too, but in between the wonderful yet hectic Christmas and their big plans for the New Year celebration there had been an attack... Bree wasn't even entirely sure who had been behind it. They all had enemies around the world, bionics and superheroes alike; for some reason some people really hated you if you were one of the "good guys". Either way, before she even had grasped what was happening their joyful shopping trip had turned into screams and terrified fleeing; people had fallen to the ground around them, deeply injured, Kaz and Oliver included.

Bree sighed quietly as she fiddled with the seam of her shirt. Mr. Davenport said that the boys would be fine and Bree herself was positive of that, it just was so hard to see them like that and... this was nothing like the New Year's Eve she had thought they would have.

"Bree?" Skylar's soft voice broke Bree from her troubled thoughts and the bionic girl looked up a little surprised. Skylar was sitting by the head of the beds, her right hand stroking Oliver's cheek gently -which the boy would be overjoyed by if he knew- while the other was resting on Kaz's shoulder.

"Where's Chase?" the alien girl continued and Bree looked around the infirmary. Very true, her brother was nowhere to be seen. Though a part of Bree already knew that, she had just hoped he had come down without her noticing.

Bree sighed again and shook her head.

"Still upstairs I guess." she mumbled and Skylar shook her head as well as she clasped her hands together in her lap, gaze directed at the floor for a moment before she looked up at Bree again.

"Is he okay?" Skylar questioned with a worried frown and Bree bit her lip to stop another defeated sigh.

"I... I don't know." Bree said, but then shook her head quickly. "Yes, he's fine."

Skylar looked up at her again, doubt written all over her face and Bree sighed again. They both knew that was a lie. Chase had taken the attack rather harshly; they all had, but Chase had taken it the worst... and Bree knew just why.

"Don't worry, I'll talk to him." Bree said as she slowly rose to her feet, feeling her muscles protest after hours of sitting still. Skylar nodded and gave her an encouraging smile as she left the room. In all honesty, she was kind of glad to get out of the room. There was something so... _grim_ about seeing your friends like that. The hopelessness of the situation, the worry that something would go wrong, and not the least the excruciating waiting.

Bree shook the thoughts from her head as she rapidly walked back to Mission Command, her steps echoing loudly in the deserted tunnels. She took the hyperlift up to the penthouse and sighed yet again -she seemed to do that a lot tonight- as she located her brother.

Chase was still sitting on the terrace, his back turned towards her and his gaze fixed on the rooftops before him. The view of the city was a perfect match to how Bree was sure he felt with the dark sky above representing the dreadful feeling of defeat and the bustling streets below resembling the whirlwind of thoughts and 'what if's she was sure were currently running through her brother's head.

Bree quietly strode forward and stopped for a moment in the doorway as Chase closed his eyes, his heaving chest a clear sign of his internal struggle with the contained emotions.

"Chase?" Bree said softly and her brother's head snapped up as he looked at her with surprised eyes.

"Bree... What- What are you doing here?" he asked and quickly tried to wipe away the tears that had fallen. That pained Bree even more. He shouldn't have to hide it. She was his sister -his _big_ sister- and their friends were lying unconscious down in the infirmary after a brutal attack on New Year's Eve... He shouldn't have to hide the pain.

"Checking on you." Bree replied as she took a seat beside him, gently placing a hand on his shoulder. "How're you holding up?"

"Me?" Chase huffed and tried to distance himself from her. "I'm fine."

"Chase..." Bree muttered and looked him in the eyes sternly. "I'm your sister, so you're going to have to do better than that."

"What?" Chase exclaimed, his voice rising in pitch slightly, causing him to clear his throat before looking down at the ground.

"I'm fine, Bree. Really." he said quietly after another moment of avoiding her gaze.

"Mhm" Bree hummed skeptically and scooted closer to him again. "And that's still a bad lie."

"Oh yeah?!" Chase exclaimed exasperated, but his irritation quickly washed off as he saw her sad face. Sighing in defeat, Chase directed his gaze back at the rooftops. "Well, what do you want me to say?"

"The truth." Bree demanded harshly before her voice softened again as she gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze. "How're you holding up?"

"The truth?" Chase echoed and looked back at Bree, his eyes the ones of the little boy he once was. "Not that good I guess."

"I know, but it'll be okay." Bree assured him, her voice mild as she tried to pull him into a hug, but he tensed up, causing her to stop with a sigh. _Yeah, like it would be that easy..._

"Chase..." Bree started again, but wasn't even sure of what to say. Her brother wasn't just upset. Nor was he sad, angry or even scared. He was guilt-ridden. He felt guilty, even though he couldn't have done anything to prevent it. Because despite everyone agreeing on that it was better to _not_ have a mission leader, Chase had always been one and old habits die hard. He still held onto the responsibility that came with being the leader.

"Chase, you _have_ to stop guilt tripping yourself." Bree said and her brother released a deep sigh.

"It's just-"

"No." Bree tried to interrupt firmly, but Chase didn't listen.

"I should have-"

"Should have _what_?!" Bree exclaimed, raising her voice so she was almost yelling her frustration out into the chilly night. "There's nothing you could have done! There's nothing _anyone_ of us could have done!"

"I-... I just-..." Chase stuttered, a bit taken back of his sister's outburst. "I should-..."

"There's nothing you could have done." Bree repeated, her voice soft and quiet once more as she squeezed his shoulder again. "So just... Just let it go, Chase."

Chase looked at her, the tears glistening in his eyes as he fought against the sobs. Bree pulled him into a tight embrace and this time he let her hug him.

"It's okay, just let it go." she mumbled in his ear as she ran a hand through his hair. Bree felt her own tears threaten to fall when her brother clasped his arms around her as the clocked ticked down the last minutes of 2016. She continued to mumble reassuringly to him while he shook along with the sobs as he let out the emotions he'd bottle up.

Bree wasn't sure how long they sat like that, but she cherished the moment. She actually missed her _little_ brother. The little boy who needed her, his _big sister_. She was happy and proud for how much he had grown and matured, especially over the last few years, but she missed this. She missed holding him, comforting him; she missed him coming to her for safety and cuddles; she missed _him_.

Sooner than she wanted her brother pulled away. He wiped away the tears with an embarrassed smile.

"Sorry..." he muttered and looked down at the floor again.

"No need to apologize, Chasey." Bree said and as she saw her brother's head snap up at the old nickname she realized just how long ago it was she had used it last.

"Thanks, Bree." he mumbled and she shrugged lightly as she threw an arm around his shoulder.

"Let's just hope next year will be better." Bree said with a faint smile as the clock struck midnight and they saw first fireworks light up the dark sky.

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 **Happy New Year's Eve everybody! Hope your year's been good and that the next one will be even better! :D**

 **I also hope you liked this little oneshot! :D Especially you, TheEliteLabRatsLover, since it's my Secret Santa gift to you! ;)**

 **See you guys next year! :D /Libra**


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